OnePlus held a new product launch conference in New York, officially launched OnePlus 6T. This is the second flagship product launched this year and maybe the last mobile phone released this year. As a flagship performance, the OnePlus 6T not only excels in performance but also innovates in design. The OnePlus 6T line-up is the most expensive OnePlus phones have ever been. But it delivers some of the latest features in the market—a trendy design, in-display fingerprint sensor, and a bigger battery.

Design & Display

The phone design isn’t exactly the kind of thing that changes very often, and the same is true of the differences between the OnePlus 6T and its predecessor. The general shape is the same, as is the layout of all the physical hardware. A couple of key components have shifted slightly, but for the most part, it’s all in the same place – alert slider and all. It’s got Gorilla Glass 6 on the front, and on the back, we have the same glass-backed design as before – albeit made from Gorilla Glass 5.

It’s phone-shaped, which isn’t any surprise, and it keeps the full-screen display that we got to enjoy on the OnePlus 6. It is slightly bigger this time around, and while we’re talking a difference of just 0.13-inches it does take a little bit more getting used to – even if you have big hands like mine. It’s still comfortable, because that really isn’t that much of a change, though I can imagine this is going to be bad news for people who have a growing distaste for larger phones.

The other thing to note is that there’s a much smaller notch than before, and is much more discrete than the monster that’s included with the Pixel 3 XL. The reduction in size came about thanks to the fact that OnePlus removed the IR sensor from the OnePlus 6, and shifted the speaker grill upwards so it’s away from the display. You still have the option of filling in the gaps on either side, which does a similarly good job of hiding the notch area as the OnePlus 6, but either way, this is part of the screen that was never going to get used anyway. A notch or no notch, you need room for the icon bar.

Interestingly, the reduced notch means there’s no notification light this time around. While some people may find that to be a problem, I can tell you that the color-changing LEDs on the OnePlus 6 have become a bit of a pain. It’s hard to ignore your phone when it keeps buzzing and flashing green and white lights at you all day long. That said, the Blue fast charging indicator is a bit of a loss, and if you want to make sure your phone is actually fast charging you’ll have to pay closer attention to what’s on screen. If it’s a lightning bolt (which also appears blue on the ambient lock screen) then you know it’s working. If it’s the usual filling battery icon, you’re in the regular mode, like some sort of slow charging pleb.

The more egregious point is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack at the base of the phone. This is something OnePlus has spoken about at length and I don’t need to repeat it all here. Essentially it was to free up some extra space inside the phone for the battery. And seeing as there’s a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter included in the box (and OnePlus makes a decent pair of USB-C batteries) I think it’s just a case of sighing and getting on with it.

The OnePlus 6T comes in two different finishes: Midnight Black and Mirror Black. The former is a matte finish while the latter is glossy. I prefer the Midnight Black as it doesn’t get as covered in smudgy fingerprints. The screen is a 6.41-inch AMOLED display with a 2,340 x 1,080 resolution. At the top is a tiny notch that houses a 3-in-1 ambient/distance/RGB sensor and a front-facing camera.

The speaker grille is cleverly integrated into the top bezel of the phone. OnePlus says this phone has an 86% screen-to-body ratio. During my time with the phone, I pretty much forgot the notch was there. There is an option to make it vanish by adding a black bar to the top of the display in the settings if you really can’t stand it.

In-Display Fingerprint

The biggest selling point of the OnePlus 6T is that it has a fingerprint scanner built into the display, dubbed Screen Unlock by the company. OnePlus has shifted it round from the back of the phone where your finger rests when you’re holding it. This is great if you unlock your phone multiple times while it’s on a table or surface. The company says the scanner will unlock the phone in 350 milliseconds and it will work through a screen protector or even if you’ve scratched the display.

During my time with it, it was definitely fast although the fraction of a delay was still noticeable compared to the scanner on the back of the OnePlus 6. Considering this is early days for this technology, I’m sure it’ll get better in time. If you’d rather not bother with a finger at all, you can still use the front-facing camera to unlock it with your face.

Camera & Battery

The camera is rear-mounted 20MP + 16MP dual camera, equipped with Sony IMX519 sensor, support dual-core focus, dual F / 1.7 large aperture, OIS optical image stabilization + EIS electronic image stabilization, 60 frames 4K video capture.

This time, the OnePlus 6T also upgraded the super city night scene mode, and independently developed night scene, HDR, jitter, and noise reduction enhancement analysis algorithms. Its front lens is 16MP, which can be used for anti-shake and portrait background blur shooting with AI algorithm.

As ever, battery life depends on your usage. But the 3,700mAh power pack tucked inside the OnePlus 6T should see you through the day without any trouble.

Verdict

As you can imagine, the OnePlus 6T is a pleasure to use in everyday use. I’ve obviously had very positive first impressions. The smartphone is remarkably smooth and it’s truly powerful. Apps open very quickly and the multitasking is very smooth. I haven’t noticed any bugs since I’ve had the smartphone in my hands.

The device is obviously good for gaming as well. The smartphone has shown absolutely no weaknesses, even with the most demanding games. For example, we were able to play Fortnite without any problems with the maximum configuration of 30 fps. But above all, the best news is that the smartphone doesn’t heat up, even after very long gaming sessions.

All in all, I have to say the OnePlus 6T is the fastest smartphone I’ve ever used. Given its price, the performance needs to be commended. The optimization between the software and hardware is certainly the key to these very good results.

The OnePlus 6T comes with 6 and 8 GB RAM. The internal memory is 128 or 256 GB, depending on the model. You can choose between glossy black (“Mirror Black”) and matt black (“Midnight Black”). Prices start at $549.99.

Update on Nov.23, 2018

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